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In recent years, unchecked economic growth in the Western world has led to resource depletion and widespread environmental degradation. “Life, Money & Illusion” was inspired by the dilemma of having an economic structure that has to grow to remain healthy, while facing the necessity of reducing our footprint and establishing a stable state economy to secure ecological viability on a finite planet. The book launches a review of economic expansion. It examines how growth came to be a goal and how that goal, though once hugely beneficial, is now the propellant for catastrophe.Then, by showing how the economy can be restructured to remain within planetary limits, it points the way to a sustainable future. The book advocates change by shifting the dominant economic paradigm from growth to sustainability. Techniques include: measuring well-being through genuine progress; encouraging sustainable investment; practical changes such as tax shifting, carbon taxes and monetary reform; and, honouring the Golden Rule instead of the Rule of Gold. An engaging and empowering vision of the future that celebrates humanity’s extraordinary ability to adapt and evolve, this book will appeal to social activists, environmentalists and all those who are committed to a sustainable future.ReviewIn recent years, unchecked growth has brought us to the brink of economic and environmental collapse. Life, Money and Illusion was inspired by the dilemma of having an economic structure that has to grow to remain healthy, while facing the finite limits of our planet. This revised and updated edition launches a review of economic expansion. It examines how growth came to be a goal and how that goal, though once beneficial, is now the propellant for catastrophe. Then, by showing how the economy can be restructured to remain within planetary limits, it points the way to a sustainable future.Life, Money and Illusion advocates change by shifting the dominant economic paradigm from growth to sustainability. Techniques include:• Measuring progress with social and environmental indicators, along with economic ones• Encouraging investment in community• Practical changes such as full cost accounting, tax shifting and monetary reform• Honoring the Golden Rule instead of the Rule of Gold• Focusing more on living than on stuff.From the Introduction:Quote:Clarifying the goal and outlining a plan is the purpose of this book. We are challenged as no previous generation has ever been, but we also have unprecedented potentials for meeting the challenge. The answer lies in understanding the present situation and internalizing the vision of a sustainable future. In the chapters that follow, you will read about what makes life successful, how the human family has grown from an inconsequential presence on the planet to a dominating influence and how today’s most serious problems are emerging from our success. While congratulations are in order for the robust formula that drives growth, we must now recognize that our size is stretching planetary limits and that the formula behind our previous success is now the source of our peril.That we are in grave danger is the bad news. The good news is that the essential step for resolving the problem has been accomplished, on the scale of our individual lives, by practically every grown-up person. While the scale of civilization is six billion times larger, the problem is the same as that faced by each and every adolescent as he or she moves into adulthood.To young people, getting bigger is very important. Once each of us is big enough, however, we stop growing. As a civilization, we are at the stage where we have grown large enough, yet, like many teenagers, we hesitate to take full responsibility for our strength.ContentCoverPraise for Life, Money and IllusionTitle PageCopyrightDedicationContentsAcknowledgmentsPrefaceIntroduction1 Without Vision, the People Perish2 Vision for the 21st Century3 Life: How It Thrives4 Problems with Life: Human Impacts on a Full Planet5 Mutual Provision: Money, Markets and an Orderly World6 Magnitude and Abstraction: When We Grow Very Large7 Where Value Is Neglected8 Where Value Is Overstated9 Money: Its Creation, Management and Growth10 The Monopoly End Game11 First Steps12 Practical Changes13 Monetary Reform14 Transformation15 How to Get There from Here: A Question of Direction16 A Crack in the Road: Motor Culture17 What Will Become of Us?Afterword: Looking Back to the Present Appendix: Tapping Our Collective Potential Recommended ReadingIndexAbout the AuthorPaperback: 448 pagesPublisher: Seven Generations Publishing; Limited Edition edition (2006)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 0978097300ISBN-13: 978-0978097301ASIN: B002YT8IJ0Source: http://www.amazon.ca/Life-Money-Illusion-Living-Earth-ebook/…